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The Ag Minute: House Farm Bill Reduces Regulatory Burdens on Farmers

WASHINGTON – This week during The Ag Minute, guest host Rep. Austin Scott discusses one of the many regulatory relief measures included in H.R. 2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013. The measure is H.R. 935, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) and eliminate the requirement of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the use of pesticides already approved under FIFRA. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted the measure as part of the House farm bill.

"Today, I want to discuss how the FARRM Act includes provisions that seek to soften the impact of the most burdensome regulatory pressures plaguing our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.

"One of these provisions is H.R. 935, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. I was pleased to be an original cosponsor of this legislation this Congress, which ends an extra permit requirement for the application of pesticides that are already federally regulated.

"The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the last Congress as H.R. 872. It also advanced out of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. But the full Democratic Senate failed to consider it and when that session of Congress ended H.R. 872 expired.

"I’m pleased that the House Agriculture Committee included this important measure as part of the farm bill. The extra permit requirement is the result of a misguided court ruling and, without a legislative fix, will only result in an administrative and financial nightmare for agricultural producers, public health agencies, the federal government and state agencies. Frankly, we just can’t afford regulatory mandates that do more harm than good.

"This is yet another reason why enacting a new farm bill this year is so important. Not only does the farm bill provide certainty to America’s farmers and ranchers, it also provides them regulatory relief."

The Ag Minute is Chairman Lucas's weekly radio address that is released from the House Agriculture Committee.

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